


You've Got Stars (They're In Your Eyes)

by StayTillTheAM



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Little Mix (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Asexual Character, F/F, Fluff, Girl Direction, Hogwarts AU, I'd say either grey ace or demisexual, Kissing, Minor Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, No Smut, Spin the Bottle, but it's not specified, cis!girl Harry, cis!girl Niall, cis!girl Zayn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 17:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9134635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StayTillTheAM/pseuds/StayTillTheAM
Summary: Rumour has it that no outsider has entered the Hufflepuff common room in a thousand years. Until a certain Ravenclaw figures it out, that is.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [niallhoranbitches](https://archiveofourown.org/users/niallhoranbitches/gifts).



> Dear niallhoranbitches, first of all I would like to thank you for your great prompts. I decided to combine two of them, if that's ok. I slightly altered the first one, because of the houses Zayn and Niall are in and their personalities.
> 
> That being said, this fic was a huge challenge for me, for various reasons: I've never written a Ziall fic before, I've only been an invested HP fan since this summer, so I had never written a fic set in that universe either (don't worry, I did a lot of research!), and it's the first time I'm writting F/F.
> 
> But I did my best, and I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> I also quickly wanted to thank my betas S, C and Jules. S and C, you helped me through the thought process of this fic. S, thank you for working out the different scenes with me and supporting me throughout the whole month I was working on this. Jules, thank you so much for your last-minute beta-ing. Your feedback was very helpful. Also thank you to Gi, my amazing cheerleader, for your endless support. I love you all.

Even though the starred ceiling of the Ravenclaw common room always looks the same, staring at the painted universe never failed to help Zayn think. From her spot on the ground, she’s looking at the white spots scattered over the midnight blue space. To her, they represent all the different possibilities, all the information that can be found in this world and beyond. Zayn wishes she could know everything, but, one step at a time.

“She’s in one of those moods again.” Zayn hears Perrie whisper from where she is seated on the couch by one of the arched windows.

“What kind of mood?” a warm, low voice asks. When and, maybe more importantly, _how_ did Liam get here? Perhaps Perrie let him in, because there was no way the Gryffindor would have been able to solve the riddle that grants entrance into the Ravenclaw common room by himself.

“You know, when she goes all Ravenclaw on us–” You know it’s Louis talking when everything he says sounds like an insult. Zayn wonders why the hell she had to grow up with a boy who later got sorted into Slytherin. Unfortunately, after living eleven years next to each other, they were best friends for life and Zayn knew she’d never be able to get rid of him. Not that she really wanted to, but Louis didn’t have to know that.

“It’s always very interesting to see her lost in her head like that,” Perrie answers, the only one still considerate enough to try to whisper. Not that it really helps, because Zayn can hear her anyway. “You can clearly see her thinking very hard about what kind of new information she will try to go after next.” A giggle escapes Perrie’s mouth. “She’s honestly the most stereotypical Ravenclaw I have ever met, not even I am like that.”

Liam and Louis start laughing as well and Zayn decides that she needs to find friends who won’t gossip about her when she’s literally _right there_.

“You do know I can hear you?” Zayn decides to speak up and the murmurs immediately come to a halt.

It’s silent for a few awkward moments before Louis exclaims with a clap, “Great! You’ve come back to our world!”

“I’ve been here the whole time.” Zayn deadpans, sitting up and leaning back on her elbows. She looks at her three friends who are sitting cosily on the couch to her left, watching her with amused expressions – although all different. While Louis is smirking, Perrie is smiling gently and Liam has a wide grin on his face.

“Your head wasn’t,” the Gryffindor says.

“Oi, don’t let Nearly Headless Nick hear that!” Louis comments, “He’ll think Zayn wants to join the Headless Hunt and you know he’s still not allowed to,” he chortles, his hands pressed against his mouth to stifle the sound.

“Oh yes, that’s not fair, Zayn,” Liam agrees seriously, as if Zayn really is beheaded and planning to participate in the Headless Hunt that she hears Sir Nicholas talk about every single year around Halloween. The concept actually kind of freaks her out. She rolls her eyes at the boys’ comments and looks at Perrie pleadingly.

“Oh, give her a break,” Perrie says, helping Zayn out like the great friend that she is. “So,” she continues, moving to the edge of the couch, leaning her elbows on her knees, and placing her chin in her hands, “what were you thinking about?” Her eyes are shining and Zayn is reminded that even though Perrie doesn’t get in these “moods” like her, she will always ask Zayn about her thoughts, excited to hear where her mind has taken her this time.

“Nothing special, just… You know how we sometimes meet up in your common room, Lou?” Zayn answers, looking at Louis who gives a nod.

“Yeah, so?” he says but Zayn ignores him, looking at Liam instead.

“And Liam sometimes takes us to Gryffindor–”

“Except my housemates don’t really like that because of this guy here,” he interrupts, pointing at Louis and, unsurprisingly, gets hit in return. Then Perrie hits Louis for hitting Liam and shushes them both.

“In the name of Merlin, let Zayn finish!” she chastises them.

“Thanks, Pez,” Zayn says, laying emphasis on her name while looking angrily at their two male friends. “Anyway, I was just thinking… I don’t have any friends in Hufflepuff–”

“That’s because your social skills are shit.”

“Oh bloody hell, Louis!” Perrie yells and hits him again. Zayn sighs in frustration and stands up, turning around to leave. However, she’s not actually able to, because arms wrap around her, a body pressed firmly to her back.

“I’m sorry, Z,” Louis whispers, “Your social skills aren’t terrible, I was only teasing you. It wasn’t very nice.” He presses a soft kiss on the back of Zayn’s head. “Forgive me?”

Zayn turns around as soon as Louis’ grip lets her and hugs him back, knowing he didn’t actually mean any of it. “You’re such a little shit, you know that?” she says and Louis pulls back, looking offended. Zayn throws him a stern look and Louis quickly gives in.

“Fine, I’m a little shit,” he admits, taking Zayn by the hand and leading her back to the couch where the others are sitting. “Please continue? I’ll keep my big mouth shut.” Zayn grins, pleased with the apology and sits down between Perrie and Liam.

“Ok, so, long story short,” she starts, “I realised I’ve never been in the Hufflepuff common room before.”

Louis and Liam’s brows furrow and they share looks that say _so what’s the problem?_ , while Perrie nods in understanding.

“That’s true,” she says, her eyes wide, “We have no idea what it looks like.”

“Exactly!” Zayn exclaims. “And actually I’d really like to know.”

Louis mutters something along the lines of “Ravenclaws” under his breath while Liam looks at Zayn in confusion. “But no one outside of Hufflepuff has ever seen it, at least not in a thousand years. Or well, so they say.”

“Doesn’t that just make it more interesting, though?” Zayn retorts, a wide childlike smile on her face.

“Wait, wait,” Louis chimes in, “so you want to see the Hufflepuff common room? Just because?”

Zayn nods.

“But how’re you gonna do that?” Perrie asks. “I mean, it’s not like you can ask a Puff,  ‘cause they won’t let you in. I tried to convince Jade once after a party in the Room of Requirement because I didn’t want to walk all the stairs back up to here and then try to solve a riddle drunkenly, but she was adamant.”

“Bet I could convince that Rapunzel girl,” Louis adds, “I’ve seen her looking at me a few times in the Great Hall, I think she likes me.”

“That’s true, I think I heard her say to that blonde friend of hers once ‘Louis is just a great person to sit and admire what he’s like,’” Liam laughs and Louis grins widely.

He looks smug, but Zayn knows he’s secretly very happy to hear this. He’s been crushing on “Rapunzel” since last year when he walked into the wrong toilet and they bumped into each other. (What a place to meet, honestly.) Louis clearly lacked some Gryffindor courage then, because he ran out with flushed cheeks and no knowledge of who exactly he bumped into. Of course, Zayn gave him a lot of shit for it, making up for all the times Louis had teased her. But Louis couldn’t go a day without mentioning the girl, so he gave her a nickname, naming her after a character in one of Liam’s muggle fairy tale books with long hair. Zayn’s seen Rapunzel a few times and she must admit the nickname fits the girl, long brown curls swaying from side to side every time she walks by.

Perrie shakes her head disapprovingly. “There’s no way you’ll be able to convince a Puff,” she goes on. “The only way to get into Hufflepuff is to actually _find_ the way in. Like, figure it out and then sneak in.”

“I still bet I can get in by just asking,” Louis persists. “I know I can be very convincing,” he winks and Zayn rolls her eyes.

“Of course the only Slytherin in this room thinks he can get in with tricks.”

“Oi, no need to attack my house!”

“Listen, Louis, I agree with Perrie,” Zayn says calmly. “The only way in is to actually find the entrance and then the password or whatever Puffs need to do to get in.”

She expects Louis to continue arguing, but instead, he has a mischievous grin on his face. _Oh no_. He normally gets those right before he dares Liam to do something crazy, which, of course, the Gryffindor nearly always does, loving the thrill of it.

Merlin, they’re such a bunch of House stereotypes.

“Zaynie, I’ve got an idea,” Louis says with a voice sweet as sugar, which can only mean trouble. “How do you feel about a little bet, hm? See who gets into the Hufflepuff common room first.”

\- - - -

A part of Zayn cannot believe she agreed to this bet, but another part already knew she’d do it. If it weren’t for her need to obtain new information, it would be for the satisfaction of beating Louis and proving him wrong. Because prove him wrong, she would.

So Zayn sets up a plan; she makes a list of easy steps to be completed. Each one will, of course, bring her closer to her final goal: getting into the Hufflepuff common room. After that, however, she will have one more step to complete. To prove that she had been able to get in, Louis told her to search for something typically Hufflepuff inside the common room, and take it with her. He’d do the same. When Zayn objected and told him that was _stealing_ , Louis dismissed it by saying “ _borrowing_ , Zaynie, not stealing” and that was that.

First up on Zayn’s list is finding out where the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room is situated inside the castle. Unfortunately, Zayn never paid much attention to Puffs, so she has no idea where they are normally headed to after dinner. She only knows that they are usually the first ones at breakfast, and the last ones to leave after dinner. That must mean their common room is located nearby. The strange thing is that there aren’t many rooms near the Great Hall, except for the kitchens below it.

Which brings Zayn to her first lead.

The next day, Zayn decides to leave dinner early. While everyone is still enjoying their baked potatoes, she sneaks out of the Great Hall to go take a look at the floor below. She takes the stairs down to the kitchen corridor, which, thankfully and also not surprisingly, is empty. So Zayn currently has free reign to snoop around.

She walks slowly through the corridor, scrutinising every stone, looking for hidden passages. But unfortunately, nothing really looks suspicious. She mutters a few revealing charms, but again, nothing happens.

Eventually she gets to the painting that leads to the kitchens. Having left dinner early, Zayn feels rather hungry, so she briefly considers getting inside – she figured out how to do so in second year – and ask the house elves for a snack. Eventually she decides against it; she has more important things to do now.

So Zayn passes the painting, reaching the end of the corridor. It’s empty like the rest of it, except for a stack of barrels near the kitchens’ entrance. Which isn’t entirely strange, seeing barrels usually contain food or drinks, but why are they placed _outside_ the kitchens? Surely there is enough space for them inside?

But before Zayn can get any closer to inspect them, she hears voices coming from the stairs. And that can only mean one thing: dinner is over. Zayn lets out a sigh. There goes her chance to find out if the barrels are indeed the Hufflepuff entrance she is looking for.

She turns around and quickly sets route for her own common room, deciding that she’ll come back another day. Unfortunately, the kitchen corridor is a one-way street, so she’ll have to pass the group of people who have descended the stairs and are now walking towards Zayn.

As they get closer, Zayn notices their yellow and black ties.

It appears she _is_ in luck today.

Zayn quickens her pace, because even though it’s seemingly not unusual for Puffs to walk this corridor, it certainly is for a Ravenclaw, and Zayn knows her presence will raise questions.

So she tries to pass the group of girls without drawing any attention to herself, and when they walk past her without a single glance, Zayn thinks she’ll be able to get out of there without having to explain herself. But then –

“You lost?” one of the girls asks and Zayn almost continues walking, although she knows the girl is clearly talking to her. Having decided she doesn’t want to be rude, Zayn finally turns around. Three Hufflepuff girls are staring at her in confusion. Zayn recognizes Jade, one of Perrie’s friends, and Rapunzel. For a moment, she’s happy to see that Louis isn’t anywhere near them, but then the thought leaves her mind as soon as she sets eyes on the third girl. Zayn doesn’t remember seeing her before, because if she did, Zayn’s sure the girl would’ve haunted her dreams ever since. That’s how outrageously beautiful she is. Soft blonde hair frames her pearly white face, and her piercing blue eyes are staring right back into Zayn’s, rendering Zayn absolutely speechless.

It doesn’t go unnoticed, apparently, because–

“Are you mute?” the girl asks, tilting her head in question. Zayn shakes her head, both to clear her thoughts and to answer the girl.

“N-no,” she stammers, “Sorry.”

“Oh,” the girl pauses. “So what’re ya doing here?”

Zayn hears traces of an Irish accent and finds herself terribly endeared by it before she forces herself to make up an excuse. “Just needed to ask the house elves for something,” she shrugs and hopes it comes across as casual.

The girl raises her brows and for a moment Zayn thinks she’s been caught lying, but then the girl asks, “You know how to get in there then?” She looks surprised, but also eager to hear how to. Her mouth opens slightly, but the girl doesn’t get the chance to ask.

“Niall, please. Of course she knows how to get in there,” Jade interrupts, laughing. “This is Zayn Malik, Ravenclaw prefect and top of all her classes. I’d be surprised if there was something she _didn’t_ know.”

“Well, I don’t know how to get into your common room,” Zayn mutters under her breath, inaudibly. Or so she thinks.

“What was that?” Niall asks.

“Nothing, I–”

“Hey aren’t you Louis’ friend?” Rapunzel asks and thank Merlin for her. She’s smiling widely, dimples on display, and Zayn definitely understands why Louis has a crush on her. Zayn doesn’t ask how she knows Louis’ name when he doesn’t know hers, because _everyone_ knows Louis.

“That I am,” she confirms.

“Great! Can you tell him he’s not being subtle and if he wants to talk to me, he should just come and do it?” she chuckles. “I’ve been waiting for quite a while now and even Puffs run out of patience eventually.”

Zayn nods, “Will do.”

“Thanks!” Rapunzel beams. If Zayn’s social skills were any better, she’d ask for her name, but she decides to just let Louis figure that one out. Besides, she keeps getting distracted by the pretty blonde standing next to Rapunzel. The pretty blonde who is looking at Zayn suspiciously, a pensive look on her face and a question seemingly burning on her tongue.

Zayn knows when she’s about to be asked something she’s not ready to answer yet, so she decides it’s time to go.

“Alright! Bye!” Zayn says, ever so skilfully, and all but runs out of the corridor before any of them can reply.

And as she walks back to her dormitory, there are three things on her mind: the stack of barrels, the accidental confirmation by the group of Puffs, and Niall.

 - - - -

The next day, Zayn leaves dinner even earlier to make sure she has enough time to inspect the stack of barrels. At first sight, they don’t look anything out of the ordinary. But Zayn knows that Helga Hufflepuff probably did this on purpose in order to not make any passers-by suspicious. She almost had Zayn fooled, too, were it not for the kind Puffs walking exactly towards these barrels yesterday.

However, Zayn is not one hundred percent sure yet that the way to the Hufflepuff common room indeed lays behind this stack. So she puts her left ear on one of the barrels and knocks on it with her right hand, waiting for the hollow sound.

Except she doesn’t quite hear what she expected, because one of the upper barrels opens slowly, making a loud cracking sound. And before Zayn can figure out what is happening, she’s drenched from head to toe in vinegar.

If she wasn’t sure this was the Hufflepuff entrance, then she is now. However, Zayn’s surprised – and annoyed – to find out that Hufflepuff is apparently the only house with a repelling device for possible intruders. Which means she’ll have to be more careful next time, if she doesn’t want to be covered in vinegar again.

Zayn takes her wand and speaks a cleaning charm, but nothing happens.

She sighs. _Of course_ the vinegar won’t come off by magic.

And as if her day couldn’t get any worse, she bumps into Louis on her way to the Prefect’s Bathroom.

“What happened to you?” he asks, brows raised and clearly holding back his laughter.

Zayn takes a deep breath. She most certainly doesn’t feel like dealing with Louis right now.

“Peeves. Prank,” she lies. She doesn’t know how far he stands with his plan to get into Hufflepuff, but she’s not about to give him any hints.

“He got you good!” Louis laughs out loud this time and Zayn rolls her eyes.

“Anyway, I’m gonna take a bath,” she announces and decides to ignore Louis when he asks “Why don’t you use a spell?” and continues her walk towards the fifth floor. On her way there, the other students give her weird looks. Zayn quickens her pace.

When she’s almost there, she sees two boys walking in her direction from the other end of the corridor she’s in. Puffs.

Zayn quickly hides behind the corner, afraid they will see her and discover she’s been trying to get into their common room. She presses her back against the wall and holds her breath, listening carefully to hear how close the students are.

The boys are laughing about something and Zayn can’t make out what they are saying, until-

“Did you see the vinegar on the ground in front of the common room?” one of the boys says, “Probably some first-year student who forgot where to knock.”

“Or someone who hasn’t got rhythm,” the other one chuckles. Their steps are sounding closer and Zayn is too anxious to think about the new, incredibly useful information she is getting.

“I don’t know, man. Getting into our common room is pretty easy. I don’t know how anyone managed to mess up.”

Zayn can hear them clearly now, so she takes a few steps back into the shadows and holds very, very still.

Thankfully, the Puffs turn right and not left – where Zayn’s standing – when they exit the corridor. Zayn lets out a breath of relief. She can’t imagine what would have happened if they had turned the other way and had seen her…

She slips around the corner, hurrying away from the boys and towards the Prefect’s Bathroom. A relaxing bath is exactly what Zayn needs right now; she has a lot to think about.

\- - - -

As per usual, the stars look beautiful tonight. Zayn has a perfect view from her spot on the floor of the Astronomy Tower. She fled here because her friends had all gathered in the Ravenclaw common room and decided it was a good idea to fire questions at her regarding the mission. Or the bet. Or whatever you want to call it.

But Zayn had no answers. And if she had them, she was not in the mood to give any. Especially not with Louis in the room. Zayn had no intention of doing all the hard work and then letting Louis run away with all her difficultly obtained information.

Thankfully, no one asked her about yesterday’s vinegar incident. She briefly feared Louis would bring it up, but it seems he had not linked the event to Zayn’s attempt of breaking into Hufflepuff. But still, neither him, nor Perrie or Liam would leave her alone and Zayn just wanted some peace and quiet.

So that’s why she’s now in the Astronomy Tower; if she couldn’t look at the stars on the ceiling of her own common room without being disturbed, then she had to find a place where she could look at real ones. They’re better anyway. Zayn wishes she could come here more often, but students are not allowed in the Astronomy Tower outside of classes. Although Zayn’s pretty sure that if she gets caught, she’ll get away with it. Perks of being a good student and having a good reputation.

Zayn’s thankful it’s silent up here; she needs some time by herself so she can think. Zayn had decided not to go back to the barrels today, because she’s still trying to solve the puzzle that is getting into the Hufflepuff common room, and she won’t try again until she has found out the correct way. She doesn’t feel like getting drenched in vinegar again, thank you very much.

No, she needs to think about this more. But thanks to the oblivious Hufflepuff boys, Zayn feels like she’s getting much closer to the answer. New clues have been added to her mental list; she needs to knock on a certain place – barrel, she presumes – in a certain rhythm. So now all Zayn needs to find out is which barrel and in what rhythm, which proves to be a lot more difficult than she had hoped it to be.

Zayn figures it’s no use trying to find the right barrel first, if she doesn’t know to what rhythm she needs to knock. Because every time she does it wrongly, the top barrel will open again and cover her in the smelly liquid.

But where can she find–

There’s a loud thud coming from the staircase to the tower, followed by some mumbled curses. Zayn immediately sits up, afraid that Filch or one of her professors have found her.

Thankfully, it’s neither. But somehow, it’s even worse. The person appears from the shadows and steps into the moonlight; Niall’s blonde hair reflects the light, making her look like an angel. Zayn’s mesmerised and is only brought back to reality when Niall says, “I swear I didn’t stumble.”

Zayn blinks. “What?”

“I– Never mind.”

Niall comes to stand next to Zayn, and sits down as well. Their bodies aren’t touching in any way, yet Zayn can feel Niall radiating, her energy transferring to Zayn. It’s warm, pleasant. And even though it’s silent, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable. It’s nice.

However, she would like to know what Niall is doing here. She can’t really think about breaking into Hufflepuff while there’s a Puff literally right next to her. Zayn had no way of knowing if Niall was a Legilimens.

“So, ehm, what brings you here?”

Niall shrugs. “The Hufflepuff common room was too crowded and loud again, even for me,” she laughs. “When that happens, I sometimes come here. Looking at the sky makes me feel calm and helps me think.” She smiles and turns to look at Zayn, “Is that weird?”

Zayn shakes her head. She completely understand what Niall means.

Niall smiles even wider, then looks up again. “No idea what it all means, though. The stars are pretty to look at, but I know next to nothing about them. Was never really good at Astronomy, I’m afraid.” She looks back at Zayn, “What about you? You come here often?”

“Not much.”

“Weird that we’re here at the same time then, if neither of us comes here much,” Niall comments and Zayn hums in agreement. “Must be fate then,” Niall grins, her eyes shining even brighter than Zayn remembers them. She briefly wonders if they have soaked up some of the moonlight. Zayn wouldn’t be surprised, because honestly, who wouldn’t want to be a part of Niall? Not even the moon would be able to resist her.

Zayn shakes her head slightly. These are very disturbing thoughts about someone who was still a stranger to her up until a few days ago.

So she just smiles dumbly, not sure what to say. Thankfully, Niall changes the subject.

“Hey,” she says, lying down and putting her arms underneath her head. “You should tell me about it all!”

“About what?” Zayn asks and lies down again as well.

“The stars, the universe! Don’t tell me you don’t know anything about it. I’m one hundred percent sure you do, Zayn Malik, Ravenclaw prefect and top of all your classes.”

Zayn smiles, recognising the quote. “I do love the stars.”

“Great!” Niall exclaims. “We have about an hour until curfew. Tell me as much as you can. Go.”

So Zayn does. And she quickly discovers that there’s something she loves more than the universe, and that’s telling Niall about it. She listens intently and asks questions in all the right places, eager to take in all the new information Zayn is providing. She also gives Zayn the time to find her words, and waits patiently if she struggles. Where Louis would have mocked Zayn for her lack of social skills, Niall is encouraging. It’s nice. So nice. Zayn has never felt more at ease in the presence of someone she barely knows.

After a while, Zayn notices Niall paying less and less attention. Instead, she’s staring at Zayn . Zayn tries her best to continue with her explanation, but Niall’s gaze is distracting.

“You still listening?” she wonders, feeling a bit unsteady now she’s being scrutinised.

Niall just hums in reply.

“Really? Cause I don’t think you’re really looking at the stars anymore.”

“I am, though,” Niall says in a serious tone. “Looking at the brightest one of them all.” Then she grins widely and Zayn can feel her cheeks heat up instantly.

“You’re blushing,” Niall coos. “How adorable!”

Zayn tries to cover her face with her right arm, but Niall grabs it and pulls it away again.

“Nah don’t be embarrassed!” she laughs. “Harry also always blushes when I compliment her.”

Zayn didn’t feel embarrassed before – mostly flattered – but she certainly does now. Apparently, Niall is the type to go around and compliment everyone. Zayn hates that she felt special for a moment.

She decides to laugh it off, but it comes out as an awkward series of ha’s. It’s followed by an uncomfortable silence, until she clears her throat and says, “Isn’t it time to go?”

“I’m pretty sure we have ten minutes left,” Niall replies.

Zayn stands up anyway. “Don’t want to take risks.” She turns on her heels and quickly walks towards the staircase, eager to go back to her dormitory and sit pathetically on her bed.

Before she descends, she looks over her shoulder once more and finds Niall staring at her with a confused expression. She’s sitting up now, but doesn’t appear to have the intention to follow Zayn. Zayn praises Niall’s instincts, because she indeed would rather be alone now.

Zayn looks away again, and leaves.

\- - - -

Zayn doesn’t go back to the barrels the next day. Or the day after. Or the day after _that_. Instead, she spends her days breaking her head over what could possibly be the right way to knock. She spends every evening and every free period in the library, searching for songs or tunes that are typically Hufflepuff, or at least related to it. In choir, she pays even closer attention, especially to the Puffs, hoping they’d hum or tap the solution. Zayn’s so set on her goal, that she skips Hogsmeade weekend.

But the Monday after the vinegar incident and the stargazing night with Niall, Zayn still is no closer to the answer than she was before. It’s frustrating, to say the least. Even more so when she sees Louis and Rapunzel (whose name turned out to be Harry) talking cheerfully on her way to the library. Zayn knows her best chance of winning the bet is by following the lead she has, but she also knows not to underestimate Louis’ skills. When she finally reaches her table, Zayn feels incredibly tense and decides to immediately dive into a new stack of books, trying to shake the feeling off.

Of course it doesn’t help that Niall chooses that exact moment to pop up next to her, looking bright and cheery.

“What’re ya readin’?” she asks, glancing at the book Zayn currently has in front of her. Zayn quickly lays her arm over it, hoping Niall hasn’t seen she’s doing research on all things Hufflepuff.

“Nothing,” Zayn says, but her attempt to cover the book up hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“You sure?” she laughs. “Cause I think that’s a book you have there. And books are for reading. It’s only logical of me to think you’re reading it, no?” she grins. “Aren’t you a Ravenclaw? You should know this.”

Zayn smiles awkwardly, not sure what to reply to that. She also keeps her arms firmly placed on top of the book. Niall’s grin turns into a sympathetic smile.

“Hey, if you don’t want me to know what you’re reading, you can just tell me.”

Zayn thinks about a suitable reply, but doesn’t come up with anything better than, “I don’t want you to know what I’m reading.”

Her answer earns her a laugh from Niall, who’s shushed immediately by the other students sitting nearby.

“Alright, fair enough,” she chuckles. “Are you on a secret mission or something?” she wiggles her eyebrows and Zayn bites her lip to hold back her smile.

“Something like that, yeah.”

Niall’s eyebrows shoot up. “Oh how exciting!” she exclaims, but manages to do so in a secretive whisper. “Is it one of those cases when, if you tell me, you’ll have to kill me?”

Zayn does smile this time. “Definitely,” she says.

“Alright, I won’t ask you again, then,” Niall smiles back. “Mind if I sit here though? The rest of the tables are full.”

Zayn looks around and definitely sees a few empty tables, but decides to agree anyway. “Sure.”

Niall sits down and places her Potions book in front of her. She reads quietly, clearly trying her best not to disturb Zayn. But her efforts are futile. Because with Niall this near, there is no way Zayn can get any work done. Yet somehow, Zayn doesn’t really mind.

\- - - -

For reasons unknown to Zayn, Niall has decided to turn Zayn’s table into her go-to reading spot at the library. From Monday on, she joins Zayn every day, and Zayn’s not quite sure how to feel about it. It’s a lot more difficult for her to do any research, but she does enjoy Niall’s company. Zayn can’t pinpoint why, because she rarely feels comfortable around other people. There’s just something about Niall; the way she carries herself, the way she radiates, the way she’s practically the embodiment of sunshine. Zayn is definitely, absolutely, one hundred percent okay with being graced with Niall’s presence on a daily basis.

That’s why, come Saturday, Zayn feels rather sad when she arrives at their corner and finds their table empty. And she feels even worse when Niall doesn’t show up in the next two hours either. Eventually, Zayn decides it’s no use wasting time sulking when she can pick up her research again now Niall’s not here. So she does exactly that and dives into a new set of books, determined to find a new puzzle piece today.

Zayn’s only brought back to the real world when she catches a figure from the corner of her eye approaching her table rapidly. When the person reaches her and Zayn can see them properly, she’s disappointed to find Liam looking at her instead of Niall. She quickly pushes that thought away when she notices how distressed Liam looks.

“What are you still doing here, Zayn?” he shouts-whispers. “The game’s about to start!”

“What game?” Zayn asks, turning another page in her book.

“The Slytherin-Hufflepuff game of course!” Liam says in a way as if Zayn should’ve known. But then again, she probably should have, with her best friend being captain of the Slytherin team and all that.

“Louis didn’t tell you?” Liam cocks his head, and Zayn shakes hers.

“Haven’t seen him much this week,” she explains, making a vague gesture towards the stack of books on her table.

“Ah. Lost in your head again?”

Zayn hums. “You could say that.”

“Well, time to take a break then!” Liam declares and takes Zayn by the arm, pulling her up from her chair in one swift movement. Damn, that boy is strong.

“We’ll need to hurry, they’re about to start,” Liam says and all but drags Zayn out of the library and towards the Quidditch pitch.

Perrie meets them in the Slytherin stands. “Where’ve you been?” she asks, shouting over the noise. “You’ve missed the start already.” She each hands them a silver and green coloured flag, which Zayn starts waving dutifully, being the supportive friend she is.

Perrie briefly explains what happened in the five minutes they missed and she’s happy to announce Slytherin is already in the lead. Zayn’s not surprised; Louis is a great captain. He selected his players thoughtfully and keeps a tight training schedule. It’s funny how different Quidditch Louis and regular Louis are; where regular Louis spends his days causing mischief, being late to classes and then causing some more mischief, Quidditch Captain Louis is punctual, strict and hard-working.

Today, his dedication pays off once again. The audience in the Slytherin stands has been cheering non-stop, while Hufflepuff’s enthusiasm falters more with each time the opposing team scores. The atmosphere gets worse with every passing minute until–

“Horan’s seen the Snitch!” the voice of the commentator rumbles through the pitch.

Zayn wonders how on earth she didn’t know Niall was Hufflepuff’s Seeker. Louis has complained about her so many times: _“I’m telling you, Zaynie! That Puff Seeker is bloody annoying! Always hides herself during the game and then BAM! She’s suddenly after the Snitch. Her team sucks, but, Merlin, that blondie makes every game a challenge.”_

Zayn’s eyes find Niall just in time to see her dive towards the golden Snitch that is invisible to Zayn from here. Niall doesn’t manage to catch it, but she’s chasing it rapidly. The Slytherin Seeker is still on the other side of the field, so Niall has the upper hand.

Hufflepuff’s excitement soars and hits the field in full force. The people in the stands begin stomping their feet and shouting encouragements to cheer Niall on. They soon start drumming to a short, powerful beat that makes it difficult for Zayn to focus on Niall’s movements with all that noise.

“Let’s go Hufflepuff, let’s go Hufflepuff!” they shout repeatedly and clap in their hands to the same rhythm. It’s remarkable how synchronised all the Puffs are. Zayn can’t explain why, but it seems like they’ve done this a hundred times before, like this series of beats comes naturally to them, like it’s automatized, like–

It’s then that Zayn realises it.

“I’ve got to go,” she announces to no one in particular and quickly rises up from her seat. She makes her way past her friends and the other people in her row.

“What are you doing?” Liam asks, his dark brows furrowed, but Zayn doesn’t feel like answering and pushes through the crowd to get to the stairs.

“Z, where are you going?” Perrie shouts after her too when it’s clear Zayn’s leaving.

“I’ll tell you later!” Zayn yells back.

“Louis’s gonna kill you!”

“Nah, he loves me too much!” Zayn laughs, although she’s pretty sure Louis will at least try to kill her when she wins this bet. High on adrenaline, she hurries down the stands and back into the castle.

Zayn gives herself a metaphorical pat on the back for picking this moment to figure it out, because with the game still going on, the entire kitchen corridor is empty, and will be for at least a few more minutes, depending on how long the game lasts.

By the time she gets to the barrels, Zayn’s grinning widely, but it falters again quickly when the second realisation hits her; she might have the rhythm now, but she still doesn’t know which barrel to knock on.

Merlin’s pants.

She looks from the bottom of the stack all the way to the top. There are too many barrels to just guess which one it is. Which means Zayn has no choice but to try them out one by one.

With a heavy sigh she walks towards the first barrel on the left of the bottom row, holds out her hand and says, “Alright then, here we go.”

\- - - -

“Where are ya always off to during dinner?” Niall says as she sits down at their table in the library.

 _To your common room entrance, trying to find the right barrel to get in, but it always ends with me getting doused in vinegar and then practically risking my life trying to make it to the bathroom before anyone sees me_ , Zayn doesn’t say.

Zayn had hoped her absence during dinner had gone unnoticed, but apparently she’s had no such luck. She didn’t expect _Niall_ to notice, though. Perrie, yes. She’s been giving Zayn knowing looks every time she excuses herself from the table ten minutes early. Louis has been sitting at the Hufflepuff table since last week, so he hasn’t asked any questions so far, thankfully. He didn’t even kill Zayn for leaving early during the Quidditch game on Saturday – which was won by Slytherin, after Niall was hit by a Bludger in the stomach and consequently lost sight of the Snitch –, because a certain curly haired girl has kept him distracted.

It looks like things are going well between him and Harry. He never shuts up about how lovely and beautiful she is. Which is actually very unlike him, who’s known for mocking people and not praising them. It’s sweet, though. Zayn enjoys seeing him like this.

She thinks Louis just came up with the bet because he needed an extra push to talk to Harry. It doesn’t seem like he’s still trying to get into Hufflepuff, but more like he’s trying to win Harry over. Which is going well, according to Niall, who always complains about Harry talking so much about Louis: _“Honestly, Zayn, the amount of times I was THIS close to using a Silencing Charm on her…”_

“Does it have to do anything with your secret mission?” Niall goes on, eyes glistening.

Her enthusiasm cause the corners of Zayn’s mouth to quirk up. “Maybe.”

Niall waits for Zayn to tell her more, but when it’s clear she isn’t going to, the blonde starts pouting. “Will you ever tell me?”

“You’ll probably know when I’ve succeeded.”

“Alright. I’ll wait patiently then,” Niall says decisively.

They start working together on their coursework then. Both of them, because Zayn doesn’t need to do any more research for her secret mission. Niall has _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6_ by Miranda Goshawk in front of her, and she’s flicking through the pages with a worried expression.

Zayn asks what’s wrong, and Niall explains that she needs to perform a series of non-verbal charms in her next class and that she hasn’t been able to do even one correctly so far. When Zayn offers her help, Niall accepts it gratefully.

They spend the next hour practicing non-verbal charms. First, Zayn gives Niall a few tips and tricks on how to get the wordless charms right while Niall writes everything down in a curly handwriting for later revision. Once Niall has the theory down, it’s time for practice, which proves to be a lot more difficult. Zayn knows Niall is trying her best, so she keeps encouraging her, reminding her to stay calm, concentrate, and keep the movements of her wand precise.

When Niall finally succeeds to perform a Levitation charm correctly, she’s so happy she leans over the table and pulls Zayn into a tight hug. Zayn normally isn’t too keen on physical contact, but she finds herself leaning into Niall and hugging her back just as tightly.

After Niall has pulled back and is seated on her chair again, she has the most beautiful, enchanting smile on her face. Her blue eyes are twinkling as if she has stars in them, while she’s looking at Zayn as if she’s the best thing she has ever seen.

Zayn wishes she had a Pensieve so she could extract this memory and save it for a rainy day.

\- - - -

For the first time in almost two weeks, they’re all sitting together again during dinner. Louis has finally managed to tear himself away from Harry’s side to join them, and while Zayn’s happy to spend time with her best friend again, she also already regrets it as soon as Louis opens his mouth.

“Zaynie, explain a thing to me,” he starts, waving his fork in the air. “I thought you said you’d win this bet on your own, without any tricks.”

Perrie and Liam shush him, trying to make sure no one else on the Ravenclaw table is listening in. They start telling Louis off, saying he should be more careful when talking about things that could possibly have them expelled. Zayn decides to tune out for a few seconds.

Her eyes scan the Great Hall and when they settle on Niall, she finds the blonde already looking back. Niall gives Zayn a small wave, and Zayn gives her a shy smile. In return, she gets a broad one from Niall before she turns away again to continue her conversation with Harry next to her.

“I _am_ figuring this out on my own, Lou,” Zayn interrupts the discussion that has arisen. She focuses back on her own table instead of the Hufflepuff one and takes another sip from her pumpkin juice.

“Then how come you’re always with that Puff girl, hm?”

Zayn chokes on her drink and starts coughing. Perrie immediately lays a comforting hand on her back.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Niall has nothing to do with the bet,” Zayn says when she has gotten herself together again.

“Alright just asking,” Louis shrugs, but a grin is forming on his face and Zayn feels the air grow thicker. She knows she won’t like whatever Louis says next.

“You didn’t answer my question, Zaynie. Why are you and Niall always together? You barely spent any time with me these past few weeks.”

When Zayn opens her mouth to tell him that’s because he was always with Harry, Louis holds up his hand and continues, “Liam and Perrie have barely seen you either. And Perrie’s your _housemate_.” 

“We’re friends,” Zayn says. Her tie suddenly feels a lot tighter than it did before.

“Are you sure though?” Louis smirks. “I’ve seen you two in the library a few times.” He wiggles his eyebrows.

“We’re just studying together, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Zayn retorts curtly. She doesn’t like this interrogation, or whatever it is.

“Yeah, if studying is looking at each other when the other one isn’t looking,” Perrie chuckles. When Zayn shoots her an angry look, her expression turns sympathetic.

“I’m sorry, Z,” she apologises, “but I’ve seen you two as well. You’re all shy smiles and longing looks. It’s clear there’s something going on.”

Zayn looks at her pocket watch, it’s late already and she needs to leave now if she wants to try another barrel today. Apparently, every time she taps the wrong one, she gets barred from access for twenty four hours. So slowly, but surely, she makes her way through the stack. One every day.

“Listen, I don’t have time for this now.” she says and stands up from the table. It’s too hot in the Great Hall and she can’t wait to leave.

“You’re blushing, Zaynie,” Louis says, smirk still present. “We know you’ve got a crush. We’re just waiting for you to realise it too.”

Zayn decides to resolutely ignore them, and stalks towards the exit.

She does not have a crush on Niall. She does not.

\- - - -

“Hey look who I found waiting outside the common room!” Perrie announces as she walks inside. Zayn’s lying on the carpet again, looking up at the ceiling. Her hair is still wet from the shower she took after getting drenched in vinegar once more. She’s been trying to find the right barrel for over a week now and if she’s honest, she’s getting absolutely sick of it. She thought about giving up, but she decided she has come too far now to back down.

So tomorrow’s another day. But today, she could use a bit of cheering up. Which means she isn’t in the mood to deal with a certain Slytherin right now.

“If it’s Louis tell him I don’t want to talk to him if he doesn’t stop asking questions about– Niall! Hi!” Zayn starts when the blue-eyed girl appears in her range of vision.

“Hi!” she greets back and comes to stand next to Zayn, who immediately stands up from the floor, feeling uncomfortable with the height difference in their previous positions. She dusts herself off and takes Niall in.

She’s looking around the room with wide eyes. “Wow, you guys have a sick common room,” she says in awe,.“It’s so beautiful in here! You even have stars on the ceiling! And look at those windows! They’re so big and…” she runs to one of them and looks outside. “What a view!”

Perrie quietly comes to stand next to Zayn. “Your fond is showing,” she whispers and only then Zayn realises she’s been grinning at Niall the whole time.

“Her enthusiasm is contagious, can’t help it,” Zayn shrugs, trying to neutralize her expression again, knowing very well she’s also smiling so widely because Niall just looks so terribly cute when she gets excited about something.

“Not so sure about all those stairs, though,” Niall continues. “Not to mention your entrance! What kind of questions does that eagle knocker ask anyway? _Imagine you’re in a dark room, how do you get out?_ ”

“Stop imagining,” Zayn answers.

Niall stops pacing around the rooms and looks Zayn straight in the eyes. “You are so smart,” she says, amazed. Zayn chuckles and Perrie raises her eyebrows at her.

“Did you just chuckle?” She grins.

“Oh, hush,” Zayn answers as Niall walks toward them.

“I really wouldn’t have guessed that one. _Imagine you’re in a dark room, how do you get out? Stop imagining_. Brilliant. Simple but brilliant.” She takes a deep breath, clearly needing it after rambling for so long. “Anyways, thanks for letting me in Perrie. I’ve always wanted to see this common room.”

“No worries,” Perrie smiles, then her eyes widen as if she’s just come up with the best idea.

“Hey, how about you show us your common room next time?” she tries to go for a casual tone, but Zayn knows what she’s doing.

She shakes her head at Perrie, saying _it’s not going to work_ with her eyes.

And indeed, Niall laughs. She even goes on for a whole of twenty seconds. “You guys are not only smart, but also hilarious. I love Claws,” she says after she’s caught her breath again.

Zayn raises her eyebrows at Perrie: _I told you so_.

Perrie shrugs: _Hey, I could try_. She then walks off to one of the book cases, takes a book out and goes to sit next to a second-year student by the window.

“So, ehm, what brings you here?” Zayn asks now she’s left alone with Niall.

“Oh, right! I just wanted to tell you that I passed my Charms test, thanks to you,” Niall smiles broadly. “So I thought maybe I should teach you something now, instead of you teaching me, how’s that sound?”

It’s only then that Zayn notices Niall has brought something with her. A guitar.

“You’re gonna teach me how to play guitar?” Zayn asks, surprised. They don’t teach guitar at Hogwarts, and her family doesn’t own one either, so Zayn never had the opportunity to play one before. She wonders where Niall learned it.

“If you want to?”

Zayn nods excitedly. “Sure! Just… maybe not here. Don’t want to disturb the other students,” she says and motions Niall to follow her.

When they pass Perrie, she wiggles her eyebrows.

Zayn rolls her eyes: _it’s not like that._

Perrie gives her a thumbs-up, but Zayn ignores her and leads Niall out of the common room and towards her dormitory. There, they sit on Zayn’s bed. The rest of the room is empty; all the other girls are out.

“Where did you learn how to play guitar?” Zayn asks as Niall takes the guitar out of its case.

“From me Da’,” Niall starts to explain as she sits down next to Zayn, “I’m a Half-blood, you know, me Da’s a Muggle. In the Muggle world, the guitar is much more popular than it is here. With me Da’ being in a band, I kind of grew up with it. I can play electric guitar too, did you know?”

Zayn thinks it’s all so fascinating. Being a Pure-blood herself, Zayn has only read about electricity in her Muggle Studies books. To think Niall can play and instrument connected to it – something Zayn finds a rather dangerous invention – is impressive. She tells Niall so.

“Nah playing guitar, electric or acoustic, is not too difficult, though,” the blonde chuckles. “Here, I’ll show ya.”

Niall starts telling about the different chords, which Zayn already knows the basics of, seeing she’s part of the Frog Choir and knows how to play a bit of piano.

“Basically all you’ve got to do to play guitar is be able to make claws of your hand,” Niall explains, “You’re one, so I assume you’ll be able to.”

Zayn laughs, “That was absolutely terrible.”

“I try,” Niall grins.

She then hands Zayn her guitar and tells her to try a few chords. Zayn does so, placing her fingers on the right strings – she listened carefully to Niall’s explanation, so she knows what to do – but the sounds the guitar makes when she strums is absolutely horrible.

Niall encourages her to continue, even though it sounds bad, but whatever chord Zayn tries, she can’t make any of them sound right.

“Don’t worry about it,” Niall comforts her. “It’s your first time trying this anyway.”

Zayn strums again, but another terrible sound comes from the guitar, as if it protesting. Zayn sighs. “To be honest, I think I just suck at this.”

Niall opens her mouth in surprise. “I can’t believe I found something Zayn Malik, prefect of Ravenclaw and top of all her classes _can’t_ do. It’s a miracle!”

“Oh, hush you,” Zayn giggles and pushes the guitar back into Niall’s hands. “Here, you do something.”

“Oh right,” Niall says, remembering something, “I was working on a song recently. Do you want to hear it?”

Zayn can’t believe Niall writes songs too. Every time Zayn thinks Niall can’t get any more wonderful, she does something like this. It’s unbelievable.

“Of course!” she replies, sitting closer to the edge of the bed, excited to hear what Niall has been working on.

“Don’t have the whole song ready yet, but I think this’ll be the chorus.” Niall says and then starts picking the strings with her fingers, playing a simple but lovely melody.

Then, she starts singing.

_If the whole world was watching I’d still dance with you_

_Drive highways and byways to be there with you_

_Over and over the only truth_

_Everything comes back to you_

Zayn’s dumbfounded. Since Niall recently joined the Frog Choir as well, Zayn knew she could sing. But in choir everyone always sings together; Zayn has never heard Niall individually before. She had no idea Niall could sing this beautifully. It’s enchanting.

Even though she doesn’t understand all of the lyrics – what are highways again? Must be a Muggle thing – Zayn loves the lyrics. But that’s not all. She also loves how Niall bites her lip in concentration, focussing on picking the right strings. She loves the sound of Niall’s voice, soft yet captivating. She loves the way Niall smiles slightly when she hums at the end of the chorus. But most of all, she loves how Niall beams when Zayn tells her she loved the song.

And then, out of nowhere, Zayn thinks that possibly, she might be on her way to loving Niall, too.

Well, _shit_.

It doesn’t happen often that Louis’s right.

\- - - -

With every day that Zayn doesn’t find the right barrel, her risk of getting caught increases. She’s been lucky so far; no students have seen her walking around through the castle covered in vinegar yet, and no Puffs have seen her near the barrels since the first time. But Zayn knows her luck will run out eventually. It’s been three weeks since she started trying, and it’s about time she finally knocks on the correct barrel.

By the third Thursday, Zayn fears she guessed the rhythm wrong. But then again, her instincts tell her to keep trying. So she does.

With a bit of hope and a whole lot of desperation, Zayn arrives at the stack of barrels. She stands before it, and takes the piece of paper on which she has made notes out of her pocket. The pattern she wrote down says today’s barrel will be the second one from the bottom, in the middle of the second row.

Zayn takes a deep breath, and knocks.

 _Let’s Go Hufflepuff_.

There’s a long pause and Zayn braces herself for the load of vinegar that will soon douse her. But it doesn’t happen. Instead, the barrels joined to the one she just knocked make a clicking sound, as if something has just been unlocked. Then, the barrel she knocked opens slightly.

Bingo.

However, Zayn knows she doesn’t have enough time to go in there now. It’s too much of a risk with dinner being almost over. Perhaps it’s better if she waits until nighttime, when everyone’s sleeping. That way, she can sneak in quickly, take something from the common room, and head back to Ravenclaw without being seen.

Zayn pushes the barrel close again, and walks over to the kitchen entrance. It’ll be the perfect hiding spot.

She tickles the pear in the painting, and then walks inside as soon as the painting opens. The house elves inside the kitchen greet her warmly. Zayn has built a friendship with them through the years, seeing as she needs to come here often to ask snacks for Louis or Liam. (That’s what she gets for not telling them how to get in here by themselves). In return, Zayn gives the elves a bit of company.

They gladly let her stay until after curfew and when Zayn’s sure everyone should be in bed, she tells the elves goodbye and heads back to the Hufflepuff entrance.

After the barrel has been opened, Zayn crawls through the hole and ends up in a pathway. Because it’s night time, she can’t see much so she places her hands on the walls to make sure she doesn’t run into one of them as she makes her way through the passageway. The air gets warmer the further she gets and when the pathway makes a turn, Zayn can see a bit of light at the end.

Zayn wonders what she’ll find. She guesses the Hufflepuff common room won’t be anything like Ravenclaw or Gryffindor Tower, seeing that it’s in a basement. But the atmosphere doesn’t feel like Slytherin either. It already feels much more pleasant here, more relaxed, cosier.

Lost in her thoughts, Zayn reaches the end of the passageway, steps into the light and… finds the entire Hufflepuff House looking at her.

This is not going according to plan.

The Puffs are holding bottles of butterbeer in their hands and now that Zayn is paying attention to her surroundings, she hears a bit of music playing. It can’t be anything else than a party she just barged into.

Zayn can’t believe that after all the careful planning she did, she still managed to mess it up at the end.

The Puffs are staring at her, clearly waiting for an explanation. But Zayn doesn’t have one. It suddenly feels a lot hotter in the room and she can feel her robes clinging to her body. She opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.

And Zayn panics.

She takes a few steps back, deciding that running away is her only option, and bumps straight into another body coming out of the passageway.

“I’m sorry!” Zayn apologises breathlessly and turns around to–

“Zayn?”

Niall is staring at her with wide eyes, not unlike the rest of her House. But when she takes notice of the panic in Zayn’s eyes, her gaze drifts to her housemates surrounding them in an intimidating way. Then she looks back at Zayn, and gives her and reassuring nod.

“Right, sorry, I let her in.” she tells the Puffs.

Zayn’s eyes widen in surprise. _What are you doing?_ she tries to communicate.

Niall gives her comforting smile. _Don’t worry, I’ve got this._

She then places her hand on Zayn’s arm and turns them both around to face the group.

“Didn’t you have detention with Filch?” Jade speaks up. She’s standing near the front, Harry right next to her.

“I did…” Niall says, then thinks for a second. “And Zayn did too.”

Jade raises her eyebrows. “Zayn Malik, prefect of Ravenclaw and top of all her classes had detention?”

Niall shrugs. “What can I say? I’m a bad influence.”

Zayn smiles at that, feeling more relaxed now that Niall is helping her out.

“Quick question, though,” Harry butts in, “Why didn’t you let Zayn go back to her own dormitory?”

“Ah, well, didn’t want to let her face all those stairs by herself, did I?” Niall smiles, knowing she’s winning her housemates over, “It’s dark, so what if she falls? We don’t want anything to happen to that pretty face of hers, do we?” she adds matter-of-factly.

Zayn can feel her cheeks heat up, and Harry smirks. Honestly, she probably spent too much time with Louis.

Jade looks from Niall to Zayn, and from Zayn to Niall, then lets out a sigh.

“Fine, Ni. We’ll allow it for just this once.”

Niall grins victoriously.

“But this does not mean everyone gets to invite people from other houses, ok?” Jade continues sternly, directing herself at the rest of the group, and then turns to Harry, “I’m looking at you, Harriette. Just because Niall brought Zayn, doesn’t mean you can bring Louis.”

Harry brings her hand to her chest, looking offended. “First of all, how unfair. Secondly, no matter how much I want Louis here, you know I wouldn’t let him in. I know the rules. And unlike Niall, I have enough self-control to spend my Friday night without my crush, thank you very much.” She flicks her hair back for a dramatic effect. The other Puffs laugh.

Well, except Niall, who’s gone a beautiful shade of red. Before Zayn can think about what that means, the blonde exclaims, “Hey! Don’t we have a birthday to celebrate? Michael, where are ya?”

From then on, the party’s in full swing again. Niall takes Zayn around the room, introducing her to the rest of her housemates. The lower years have gone to bed already, but from the fourth year up, everyone’s here. They chat to a few people, before Zayn realises she hasn’t actually properly looked at the room they are in yet.

She tunes out when Niall’s telling a girl named Karlie about how she got detention and looks around the Hufflepuff common room. It’s round, like the Ravenclaw common room, but it has more of an earthy feel to it instead of an airy one. Which isn’t surprising, actually, considering they’re halfway into the ground. The ceiling is low and right beneath it are circular windows. Because it’s night, Zayn can’t quite see what the view is, but she figures it must be very different from what she usually sees from her own Tower.

The room itself feels very cosy, which must be the effect of the warm colours and materials used. Around the room, burnished copper and an enormous amount of plants can be found, which only adds to the earthy and warm atmosphere.

Even though everything’s very unlike the Ravenclaw Tower, Zayn likes it. And if she’s completely honest, she likes it even more knowing she’s the only outsider who has been inside in a thousand years. It gives Zayn a weird sort of satisfaction. 

Zayn hadn’t noticed she had drifted away from Niall until the blonde is standing next to her again.

“You enjoying yourself?” she asks and hands Zayn a bottle of butterbeer, who accepts it even though she never drinks much alcohol.

“Uhuh,” Zayn nods, studying the painting she’s currently standing in front of.

“Helga Hufflepuff, founder of our House,” Niall states, then chuckles, “Which I don’t have to tell you, of course. Definitely not now you’re inside our common room. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t know who it was.”

Of course about everyone in the Wizarding World knows who Helga Hufflepuff is, but Zayn doesn’t understand what she has to do with Zayn being inside the Hufflepuff common room.

“How’s that?” she asks, cocking her head.

“The password?” Niall prompts. “Well, not so much a password, but you know.”

Zayn just stares at her in confusion.

“You have to knock to the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff to get in?” Niall clarifies, brows furrowed.

“ _Helga_ Hufflepuff?”

“Yeah, what did you think it was?”

“I don’t know, I knocked to _Let’s Go Hufflepuff_ ,” Zayn shrugs, feeling stupid now.

“I can’t believe you sometimes,” Niall shakes her head, biting her lip as she smiles. “But,” she continues, more seriously, “You gotta have to tell me the full story of how you got in here later, okidoki?”

\- - - -

For reasons unknown to Zayn, they end up playing Spin The Bottle. Most of the Puffs are under the influence of butterbeer, so everyone thought it was a good idea to play the old classic game. Zayn still has her first bottle in her hand, not even close to having enough courage to join, but she’s dragged into the circle by Niall anyway.

She goes to sit next to Jade, who smiles at her brightly, and Niall drops down next to Harry on the other side of the circle. Zayn looks at the other Puff boys and girls who have decided to play. She recognises Michael and Karlie from earlier, also Dan and Elsa whom she briefly talked to after Niall introduced them, but that’s about it.

Zayn hopes she’ll be able to just sit through the game without having the bottle land on her on any occasion. She doesn’t feel like kissing a stranger, thank you very much.

Niall’s booming laugh fills the room, and Zayn looks at her as she and Harry are discussing something incredibly funny, apparently. She’s looking gorgeous tonight, Zayn thinks. Her hair is pulled up in a high, albeit messy, ponytail, so Zayn has a perfect view of her beautiful face. Her blue eyes, her rosy cheeks, her soft lips.

Perhaps there is one person Zayn would like to kiss tonight.

Unfortunately for Zayn, luck isn’t on her side. In the first five turns, the bottle lands on Niall three times.

To say it isn’t fun for Zayn to see her get kissed by three different people – who aren’t her, mind you – is an understatement.

She downs the rest of her butterbeer in two quick gulps, feeling she might as well get some more alcohol into her system if she wants to survive this night.

\- - - -

It seems like everyone gets to kiss Niall except Zayn. And it’s so incredibly unfair. Did someone put a spell on the bottle? Did _Niall_ put a spell on the bottle? Why didn’t _Zayn_ put a spell on the bottle?

Whatever.

Zayn’s not a fan of Spin The Bottle.

Thankfully, Zayn didn’t have to kiss many people herself. Just some boy named Ed, a girl named Sara and then Elsa. It’s been pretty ok so far, although the longer the game goes on, the deeper and lingering the kisses become.

Zayn’s on her third bottle of butterbeer now and even though the drink has very slight alcoholic content, she still feels a bit hazy. That’s why she’s not bothered when Harry’s turn of the bottle lands on her. Harry grins, and crawls over to Zayn’s side of the circle.

“Ready?” she asks when she’s seated on her knees in front of Zayn. Her breath smells a bit of the five bottles of butterbeer she drank tonight, but Zayn doesn’t really mind. Harry herself smells lovely, though. It’s a mix of lavender, honey, and… Louis, apparently. Still, Zayn thinks kissing her would be quite nice.

Zayn hums, “Go for it.”

And Harry does. She pushes Zayn’s black hair away from her face, and then leans in to press their lips together. But at this stage of the game, simple pecks on the lips aren’t acceptable anymore. So Harry pushes her tongue past Zayn’s lips for a more passionate kiss, an action that is received with cheers from the rest of the group.

Zayn briefly opens her eyes to see if Niall is amongst them, but finds her chatting with the person next to her, not paying any attention to Zayn and Harry at all.

For some reason, Zayn thinks it’s unacceptable.

So she pulls Harry even closer, closes her eyes again and deepens the kiss. Her hands find Harry’s curls and she tugs slightly, trying to take control of the kiss. She needs to make this as spectacular as possible if she wants Niall to look at them.

Thankfully, hair-tugging is a _thing_ for Harry, and she moans into Zayn’s mouth. (Zayn makes a mental note to pass on the tip to Louis.) Of course, it doesn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the Puffs. A few people start to clap, while a few others whistle.

Zayn quickly opens her eyes again, and tries to find Niall. When her gaze settles on her, Niall is already looking her straight into the eyes. She doesn’t look too happy, so it’s a good thing Zayn merely did it to get her attention. Zayn raises one of her eyebrows at her to say _that’s what you get_ , then breaks off the kiss. They stare at each other for a few more tensed seconds before Harry speaks up.

“Damn, Zaynie, you are good.” she chuckles. Zayn sees Niall frown and then look away again. This might not have been a good idea after all.

“Ehm, thanks.” she answers, cheeks red now that the moment is over. Maybe she has gone a little overboard. But when Niall’s eyes find her again and then don’t leave her for the rest of the night, Zayn decides it was worth it.

\- - - -

When the majority of the Puffs have gone to bed and the party is officially over, Zayn decides to leave as well. It’s late already and she needs to head back to Ravenclaw Tower and get into bed soon. With a quick wave to the remaining people, Zayn turns around and starts walking towards the exit. However, she doesn’t get very far. Someone places their hand on Zayn’s shoulder and pulls her back in a swift motion.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Niall questions, coming to stand in front of her, arms crossed. Zayn doesn’t quite know how to interpret the tone in her voice. It’s not angry, more… challenging.

“Ehm, my dormitory?” Zayn replies, but it doesn’t feel like the correct answer.

Niall raises her eyebrows, unimpressed. “So you’re gonna walk through the castle all by yourself in the middle of the night while Filch and that cat are probably out there, not to mention all the other obstacles that could cause you harm on the way back?”

Zayn shrugs. “Was just gonna risk it, I guess.”

Niall’s expression is unreadable when she says, “I think you’ve taken enough risks tonight.”

She then tugs on Zayn’s arms and leads her through a circular door, opposite of the passageway back to the kitchen corridor. “And I meant it when I said I wouldn’t let you walk back on your own. You’re kipping with me.”

Zayn doesn’t object. At least she won’t have to face all those stairs tonight.

They walk through a barely lit tunnel, which Zayn figures must be underground. Niall’s hand is still on Zayn’s arm, but slides lower ever so slowly until it reaches Zayn’s hand. Neither of them are looking at each other, but Zayn feels Niall link their fingers together. She bites back a smile.

They soon reach the girls’ dormitory, and Niall opens another circular door and pulls Zayn inside. Inside, there are five four-poster beds, much like it is in all the other dormitories. But instead of being covered in sky blue silk eiderdowns, these beds are covered in patchwork quilts. The room is illuminated by copper lamps, radiating soft, warm light. On the walls there are some copper bed-warmers.

“For cold feet.” Niall explains, quietly because Karlie and Elsa are already asleep.

Out of the trunk next of her bed, she retrieves a grey Muggle sweater and something that seems like cotton pants and pushes it into Zayn hands. “You can sleep in this.” she says and then fetches something similar for herself.

Zayn unfolds the pieces of clothing and holds them up in front of her, inspecting them carefully. Being a Pure-blood, Zayn doesn’t think she’s worn anything like it before. “What are these?” she asks.

“Hm?” Niall says as Zayn lowers the clothes again and… is met with the sight of Niall in nothing more but her underwear and an unbuttoned shirt. _Merlin_. This must be payback for the kiss with Harry.

Niall just raises one of her eyebrows, and Zayn finds it difficult to keep her gaze on Niall’s face. Because, wow, she’s fit. Petite, but curvy in all the right places. But other than that, Niall is just incredibly beautiful. Her milky white skin is lit up by the moonlight shining through the tiny windows, making it glow like nothing Zayn has ever seen. Zayn can’t take her eyes off of her.

“Why’re ya still in your robes?” Niall asks, breaking Zayn’s trance. “C’mon, better take these off so we can go to bed. I’m dead tired,” she continues and steps closer to Zayn to undo her tie, and then the buttons of her shirt. She keeps her eyes on Zayn the whole time, and Zayn doesn’t dare breathe.

“There,” Niall says when the last button is undone. She pushes Zayn shirt opens slightly, placing her hands on Zayn’s hips, rubbing her thumbs over the beige skin.

“Can you put your sweater and leggings on by yourself, or do you need help with that as well?” she asks, humour in her voice, but also a hint of something else.

Zayn doesn’t know what the right answer is, but as she tries to figure it out, the door of the room opens, Harry and Jade stepping inside.

Niall immediately steps back, and Zayn pulls her shirt close again.

As they take in the scene before them, Harry’s eyes widen and Jade covers hers with her hands.

Zayn’s aware of what the situation looks like. Only it isn’t like that. At least, she thinks.

“Right,” Harry says, drawing out the word, “I’m gonna go to sleep, so whatever you guys were planning to do, do it quietly.”

“Very quietly, please.” Jade adds, uncovering her eyes again and starts getting ready for bed too.

“It’s not–” Zayn starts at the same time Niall says “We weren’t–”.

“Mhm.” Harry smirks, “Whatever you say.”

Zayn lets out a sigh and then quickly changes into the nightwear Niall has given her. The so-called leggings are apparently nothing but feetless tights, albeit softer and more comfortable. Zayn thinks she might like to buy a pair for herself as well.

After she’s also put on the sweater – which has a wonderful vanilla scent to it, just like the way Niall smells – she pulls back the covers of Niall’s bed, and goes to lie on the left side of it. When Harry and Jade tell them goodnight, Niall joins her on the other side.

The next few minutes are spent trying to find a comfortable position ; this bed wasn’t made for two, after all. It’s rather awkward at first, because it seems like neither of them is sure whether they are allowed to touch the other and if so, where is appropriate.

It’s all trial and error. When Niall turns, she elbows Zayn in the stomach, and when Zayn tries to move, her knee bumps into Niall’s thigh. If they don’t agree on a position soon, they could be doing this all night.

“This isn’t working.” Zayn sighs, lying on her left side and the very edge of the bed. A fall to the ground is imminent, but every time she tries to move back, her bum bumps into Niall’s hip, pushing her closer to the edge as well. Zayn will be surprised if neither of them wakes up on the floor tomorrow morning.

“I’ve got an idea.” Niall says, and Zayn hears the sheets rustle until she feels Niall’s chest against her back. Then an arm sneaks around her waist and pulls her closer. “Wouldn’t want you to fall out.” Niall whispers in her ear, her breath warm in Zayn’s neck.

The scent of vanilla intensifies and the warmth from Niall’s body transfers to Zayn’s until she’s surrounded by nothing but Niall, Niall, Niall. Zayn can’t say she minds.

“Don’t let me go,” she whispers, and it feels like she’s asking Niall for more than just the promise not to let her fall out of bed.

“I would never,” Niall’s reply sounds, followed by a soft kiss on Zayn’s shoulder. Zayn lets out a happy breath and with a smile on her face, she closes her eyes and lets herself drift off to sleep.

\- - - -

Someone’s pulling on Zayn’s arm and she’s not nearly awake enough to deal with any of this.

“Go. Away,” she groans and nuzzles her face closer into the pillow.

“Fine, be late for class then.” Harry says and Zayn opens her eyes in panic. Harry’s crouching in front of her, eyebrows raised.

Zayn stares at her. “Please tell me I didn’t oversleep.”

“You didn’t oversleep,” Harry obliges.

“I overslept, didn’t I?”

Harry looks at her sympathetically. “You kinda did.”

Zayn curses under her breath and tries to sit up, but the heavy weight of an arm is holding her back. Zayn looks besides her and there lies Niall, in all her angelic beauty. Pillow creases cover her soft cheeks and the dim light of the rising sun scatters shadows over her face. Her breathing is deep and relaxed, and little puffs of air escape her slightly opened mouth. Her arm is still around Zayn’s waist, her fist gripping the grey sweater Zayn lent from her firmly, refusing to let her go, just like she promised.

Zayn’s heart fills with warmth.

“As cute as this is,” Harry interrupts, “Perrie told me to come get you since you weren’t at breakfast and you have Transfiguration in less than ten minutes.”

Merlin’s beard, ten minutes?!

Zayn slowly untangles Niall’s fingers from the sweater, moves her arm back next to her, and then jumps out of bed to get dressed.

She pulls off her nightwear quickly – and gets her head stuck in the sweater because of course it doesn’t go smoothly – throws them on Niall’s trunk and then grabs one of the shirts they left on the ground yesterday after undressing.

As she’s buttoning up the shirt, she looks at Niall again, who’s still sleeping peacefully.

“Don’t I have to wake her too?” she asks Harry, who’s still in the room and cleaning up the mess Zayn is making.

“We haven’t got class until later, don’t worry.” she replies as she folds the sweater and places it neatly into Niall’s trunk. In the meantime Zayn pulls one of the skirts off the ground, hoping it’s hers. She feels like Harry does a lot of cleaning around here, because Niall seems to be as messy as Zayn is.

“I’m gonna head back now, though,” she announces after she’s also put the leggings away. “Will you be ok?”

Zayn, who’s struggling to put on her socks while jumping on one leg, nods. “Yeah, just my socks and tie and then I’m done.”

“Alright,” Harry waves. “See you later!” And then Zayn’s left alone again.

After she’s put on her socks and shoes, she looks at the clock on the wall and sees that she only has more two minutes left. With her eyes on the ticking pointer, she hastily grabs her tie and decides she’ll put it on while she hurries to class.

Thankfully, the Transfiguration classroom is on the ground floor so Zayn arrives with three seconds to spare. As the teacher walks in, Zayn quickly goes to sit next to Perrie, who’s looking at her with raised eyebrows and wide eyes.

Zayn shrugs. “I overslept.”

Perrie shakes her head and lets out a chuckle, “I wonder why.”

Before Zayn can ask her what she means, class begins and she decides she’ll just have to ask her later.

\- - - -

A few times today, Zayn has received weird looks from other students. She briefly fears that they have heard about Zayn breaking into Hufflepuff, but then remembers that Niall and her are the only people who know. 

Which reminds her that she needs to tell Louis.

Zayn arrives at dinner with a big grin on her face, eager to tell her friends the news. She tries to wait until after they’ve eaten, but it’s hard to contain her excitement. Her friends must notice, because they are looking at her expectantly, clearly knowing something’s up and waiting for Zayn to tell them.

Eventually, Zayn gives in. She can’t wait to see Louis’s reaction.

“I did it.” she announces happily, “I got into Hufflepuff.”

Of all the reactions Zayn expected Louis to have, she didn’t expect him to start smirking at her.

This is odd.

Louis is looking at her with a daring expression, but Zayn struggles with figuring out what it means.

“You don’t believe me?” she tries, then suddenly remembers the deal. “Oh, is it because I didn’t bring anything from the common room?”

When Louis stays silent, she continues, “Because I promise I got in! Just ask Harry!”

Finally, Louis starts speaking. “I don’t have to ask her, it’s quite clear you’ve been there.”

His gaze travels down from her face to her chest, staring intently at the area near her breasts. She’s about to ask him what in the name of Merlin he thinks he’s doing, until she looks down herself and–

Sees she’s wearing a yellow and black tie.

 _Niall’s_ tie.

She looks back up again, and sees her friends trying their very best to hold back their laughter. Zayn feels her cheeks heat up, and then the anger rise in her body.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demands Perrie. “I spent all day with you, you could’ve just told me.”

“To be honest, I thought you’d just tell me what happened yourself,” she explains. “But then you didn’t and I figured you’d probably wait until dinner. Which you did.” 

“So you thought letting me walk around all day like this was ok?” Zayn retorts and Perrie has the decency to look apologetic. “I feel even more embarrassed now, thanks for that.”

“C’mon, Zayn, it’s not a big deal,” Liam tries and Louis nods his head.

“Yeah, you wore the wrong tie, so what?” he says and Zayn takes a deep breath. Perhaps she’s indeed making a mountain out of a molehill.

“Besides, you still have to tell us how exactly that happened,” Louis wiggles his eyebrows.

“I’m betting two galleons that the tie you’re wearing belongs to that pretty Puff you’ve been hanging out with,” Liam chimes in.

“Three galleons that she stayed over last night!” Louis adds, grinning at Zayn.

Zayn cocks her head, and looks at him intently. “You already know what happened, don’t you?”

The Slytherin shrugs, “Harry might or might not have told me.”

“I should’ve known,” Zayn says, rolling her eyes.

“So, how was she?” Perrie says, placing her elbows on the table and leaning her chin on her hands.

“Oi, I still haven’t forgiven you!”

“Aw, Zaynie, tell us!” Louis insists, Perrie and Liam nodding along.

“Nothing happened,” Zayn responds. “Besides, why do all of your minds immediately go in that direction?”

She sighs. It’s tiring how people always assume things need to happen on a physical level when you like someone. Yes, she thought about kissing Niall before, but nothing past that. Besides, what she feels for Niall goes beyond physical attraction. She loves her personality, the way her mind works, the way she carries herself. To Zayn, that means a lot more.

“Sorry, Z, we know you’re not like that,” Perrie apologises.

“But you do like her, right?” Liam wonders and the thought of Niall makes Zayn smile again.

“Yeah, quite a lot,” she admits.

\- - - -

Sometimes Zayn thinks her friends care more about her crush on Niall than she does. For the rest of dinner, all they did was tease Zayn until she couldn’t take it anymore and fled to the Astronomy Tower again.

She’s now lying on her usual spot on the ground, looking up at the first stars of the night, flickering in the twilight. Zayn loves how the night sky always makes her feel tranquil again. She remembers Niall saying one time that she talked about the night sky so much, she might as well be the moon. _“You’d fit there, y’know,”_ she told  Zayn. _“Lighting up the dark and all that.”_

The memory flows into the wish that Niall was here.

And as if the universe heard her thoughts, the sound of a loud thud resonates through the air, followed by, “Bloody hell, why does this always happen?”

Zayn sits up and looks behind her to see Niall jumping on one foot and rubbing the other. She chuckles.

Niall places her foot down and looks up, smiling. “No one makes more spectacular entrances than I do, am I right?”

Zayn shakes her head, laughing.

“You’re one of a kind, Ni.”

Niall grins. “A good kind, I hope.” She sits down in front of Zayn, knees crossed.

“The best,” Zayn grins back.

Even though it’s dark outside, Zayn can see Niall blush. The reddish colour stands out from her pearly white skin, and she looks absolutely stunning. Zayn briefly wonders if Niall made some kind of deal with the universe; she was granted with the most glinting stars in her eyes, moonbeams gleaming from her skin, and a smile as bright as the sun.

Zayn must have been staring for too long, because Niall clears her throat awkwardly and then reaches into the pocket of her robes.

“I believe this belongs to you.” she says and hands Zayn back her tie.

“Thank you,” Zayn giggles, accepting the tie and switching it with the one she was wearing.

As she gives back Niall’s tie as well, she sees a small object beside Niall, almost behind her back.

It’s a bottle.

Niall follows her gaze. “Oh…” she starts, rather hesitant. “I thought…”

There’s a pause. Zayn looks at Niall, giving her an encouraging nod.

“Well,” Niall continues, “do you want to play?”

Her intentions are quite clear, and Zayn feels a wave of nervousness hit her. However, it’s quickly replaced with excitement when she sees the hope in Niall’s bright blue eyes. Zayn can’t believe her luck. Niall kissed so many people yesterday, yet she is here, choosing Zayn.

Zayn smiles shyly. “Sure.”

“Great!” Niall exclaims, a sign of relief in the tone of her voice. She takes the bottle of butterbeer – empty, of course – from behind her back, and places it between them.

“You can have the honour of starting,” she tells Zayn, eyes glittering.

With a slight tremble in her hand, Zayn reaches for the bottle and gives it a spin.

The air is thick as both Zayn and Niall’s eyes follow the bottle’s movements, twirling in rapid speed until it goes slower, and slower, and–

Ends up pointing at the wall.

Zayn is suddenly reminded why she hates this game so much.

And if she’s honest with herself, she’s also sick of her and Niall skirting around each other. It’s clear now; the feeling’s mutual. No more waiting. No more wasting time.

Zayn pushes the bottle away and leans forward, grabbing Niall by her shirt. The blonde’s eyes widen, in surprise, but before she can say anything, Zayn places her lips firmly on Niall’s.

It seems to take Niall a few seconds to understand what is happening, but when she does, she sighs happily into Zayn’s mouth, throwing her arms around Zayn’s neck. Zayn is suddenly overwhelmed by the scent of vanilla again, as Niall tries to pulls her closer and deepen the kiss. She runs her tongue along Zayn’s bottom lip before slipping in when Zayn opens her mouth slightly.

Zayn lets go of Niall’s shirt and sneaks one of her hands around Niall’s waist, placing it firmly on her back, pushing their bodies even closer. With the other, she reaches up to touch Niall’s cheek, soft beneath her fingertips. She lets her hand travel down Niall’s face and neck until she reaches the ends of Niall’s blonde strands of hair, and starts twirling them around her fingers.

Niall pulls back a little from the kiss and Zayn can feel her smile. She opens her eyes slowly so she can see Niall’s gorgeous face up close, to find Niall already looking back. Her eyes are crinkled and her cheeks rosy, and Merlin, what a beautiful sight she is.

Zayn leans in again and fits their mouths together once more, wanting another taste from those soft, pink lips. But she doesn’t let it linger this time. Instead, she starts planting feather-light kisses on the corners of Niall’s mouth, on her cheeks, and then one on the tip of her nose.

A giggle escapes from Niall’s mouth and it’s the most beautiful sound Zayn has ever heard. The moon can be her witness.

Niall pulls back a little, bringing one of her hands to Zayn face, cupping her cheek and rubbing it lightly with her thumb. Zayn opens her eyes again, her heart racing and her breathing unsteady. But she’s never felt more happy; she has the most dazzling girl in the universe in her arms, and she’s _hers_.

Niall’s eyes are twinkling when she whispers, “I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”

“Why didn’t you?” Zayn wonders, twirling another strand of Niall’s hair around her finger.

“Was waiting on you,” Niall says with a small smile.

Zayn lets out a chuckle, “Puffs and their patience…” she comments, which is rewarded with a light shove against her shoulders.

“We take pride in our patience!” Niall retorts, feigning anger. “Besides, I can’t help it that it took you so long to catch up. Aren’t you a Claw? You’re supposed to be smart and figure these things out quickly.” She raises her eyebrows challengingly.

“What?” Zayn takes the bait, “I figured out how to get into your common room! How’s that for smart, huh?”

“Of course you are smart, Zayn Malik, Ravenclaw prefect and top of all her classes,” Niall smiles and places a soft peck on Zayn’s lips.

“You’ve got to stop saying that, it’s starting to sound weird,” Zayn frowns and Niall lets out a chuckle.

“Only if you tell me how you found the way into Hufflepuff Basement.”

Zayn smiles, “Deal.”

So as they lie down next to each other, Niall’s head on Zayn’s shoulder, Zayn tells her everything. From the bet with Louis, the bloody vinegar, and her research – “Which you made a whole lot more difficult for me, thank you very much” – to the Quidditch game, more vinegar, and the moment she finally tapped the right barrel.

Niall listens carefully, laughs every time Zayn mentions she was doused in vinegar again, all the while pressing light kisses on Zayn’s neck and cheeks every so often.

It’s the most perfect moment, lying here with Niall underneath the stars. Zayn once again wishes she had a Pensieve so she could save this memory. But then again, she has the feeling that even without one, she will never forget this. She won’t forget the way her heart beat with love, the way her and Niall’s voices resonated through the cold air, and the way Niall looked so beautiful beneath the night sky; sunshine in her smile, moonlight on her skin and stars in her eyes.

 

THE END.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think? I hope you enjoyed the story!


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